By Sarah Ladd, Kentucky Lantern · May 8, 2026

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, along with attorneys general from 21 other states, is asking the United States Supreme Court to require mifepristone not be sent through the mail. 

This comes after several flip-flops in mifepristone access, a medication that is used in conjunction with misoprostol to end a pregnancy before the 70-day mark, according to the Mayo Clinic. It can also be used to control high blood sugar in people who have Type 2 diabetes, the Mayo Clinic says. 

The FDA first allowed mifepristone to be prescribed via telehealth in 2021 and the decision became permanent in 2023.  

On May 1, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the 2023 U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule that allowed mifepristone to be dispensed without an in-person visit with a physician, Maryland Matters reported. 

Unpacking the fight over telehealth access to abortion medication

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily suspended the 5th Circuit decision so each side could file briefs with the court. 

“Rather than respect these States’ efforts to protect prenatal life, the federal government has often undermined them,” the brief Coleman joined said. 

It criticized the Biden administration for expanding access and “efforts to both maintain and expand access to mifepristone, including via telehealth prescription, which in turn facilitates the shipment of chemical abortion drugs across state lines—from proabortion States into those where abortion is more tightly regulated.” 

The Society of Family Planning says most abortions are obtained in person but telehealth accounts for about 27%. 

In a Friday statement, Colemand said “We’re asking the Supreme Court to recognize that Kentucky has the ability to protect the health and safety of our citizens.”

Others who signed the brief are attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

This story  may be updated. 

Read the brief